uncommon belgian bread knife with arm support
 

I recently acquired a rather intriguing knife. It is an old belgian bread knife of crude but skilled manufacture.

The knife has a thin convex blade and a full tang construction. The handle is probably ash. The funniest of all is the arm rest. When using, the cutting edge is oriented towards the user; the big farmer breads are usually held against the chest.

What is interesting is the way the knife was made: steel seems to be laminated (old steel with plenty of impurities); different pieces are forge welded together (just behind the handle, just in front of the u shape & attachment of the u shape to the knife tang).

Age? I guess somewhere between 1850 - 1900.

Enjoy!

tim

Very interesting - I like these primitive items - has great character...

Yes, an exquisite specimen indeed :cool: .

These unusual old sword type implements are pretty interesting., winder what its for.

Just a guess.
Maybe a knive for one who lost his hand, when it is fastened to the lower arm.
There were plenty of those items after WW1.
But I think the handle would have been removed if it one ot that kind.

Dirk :shrug:

Humm ... unlikely (see my profile). I don't see much praticality in that. Besides, prothesis and other straping devices are only word to put up on a permanent basis, not for ephemerous tasks.
On the other hand, that arm 'rest' is well placed as a stopper to back the effort you would have to make to cut something hard ... very dense bread, following tim's mention; otherwise something harder :o .

Could this have been used like a tobacco-cutting knife? The extended bar would have allowed for more of a swing to cut corn stalks, sugar cane, tobacco leaves (which are surprisingly thick and a pain to cut, I'm told). Just a guess- :shrug:
If you google tobacco knives, you'll see all the weird shapes they came in, some for specialty removal. Here's a site for various agricultural knives and their odd shapes-
www.okapisa.com/site/awdep.asp?depnum=50598

As long as the cutting direction, be it chopping or leaning against the material, is towards the user... this is an important clue !
By the way, which are the blade measurements ... and the other parts length ?
Ot doesn't look like a chopper ... rather a (slicing) cutter :o

It is indeed a bread knife. You have to imagine: a BIG firm farmer's bread, plenty of children to feed. The U support takes away the strain from your wrist when cutting a lot of bread.

It could be made for an impaired person, but I'm not sure.

Here is a similar knife: http://www.mot.be/w/1/index.php/IDDO...e?i=900553.jpg

Noted; absolutely :cool: .
Prity nice piece ;)
Wouldn't mind having it :D

¿Bread?

Fernando K

It seems as Fernando K doesn't agree with the bread knife version !!

Hello,

Nifty tool.

Fernando K, the knife would be held the reverse way, the metal support resting on the top of the arm, not the bottom, and with the edge of the blade is on the concave side.

Regards,
Emanuel

I would say Fernando K drawing is correct.

.

Fernando is right. I guess the handle has shrunk a bit and normally covered the entire tang.

Imagine somebody holding the big loaf of bread against the chest with the left arm (almost hugging the bread); holding the knife in the right hand, the support touching the outside part of the lower arm. Cutting slices in a pulling direction, cutting towards the body.

This piece is very intriguing: simple and rather roughly manufactured (no fancy details - just form and function) but very efficient. And important in daily life!

Regarding dimensions: the blade is approx 2 mm thick (thin - for good slicing), convex grind, but rather flat and 27 cm long. The handle is 11 cm (wooden part); 18 cm between the end of the handle and the U shape.

When I was very young (sixties) my grandmother had such a knife for cutting bread, not the large farmers bread but the normal size (the size of the blade was just like a normal bread knife, so to small for very large breads). If I am correct it was used on the field so you can hold and cut the bread in your hands, no need to put it down.

The handle is not shrunk, it just like you see in the picture.